Judge dismisses bunker murder civil suit

LOS ANGELES • A federal judge threw out a civil suit filed against the government by the parents of two teens killed at an abandoned military bunker near Helendale in 2008.

The personal injury lawsuit against the Air Force and Bureau of Land Management alleged that the agencies failed to secure the property, claiming negligence, premises liability and public nuisance.

But U.S. District Court Judge Philip S. Gutierrez concluded that the government "owed no duty to prevent the unforeseeable murders of Plaintiffs' children," according to court minutes, and dismissed the case Tuesday.

"We knew it was difficult, and the law is really unsettled," said Brian Kabateck, a lawyer for the victims' parents in the civil suit. "Nevertheless we are disappointed."

The parents have an option to appeal the case, but Kabateck said he would have to talk to them first to decide their next move.

In January 2008, Bodhi Sherzer-Potter, 16, and Christopher Cody Thompson, 18, were found dead in the abandoned bunker. Collin McGlaughlin, 22, David Brian Smith, 23, and Cameron Thomson, 20, are charged with their murders.

McGlaughlin and Smith allegedly held Potter and Thompson at gunpoint and walked them into the bunker after a party, according to court testimony.

The lawsuit claimed that the federal government agencies knew about the dangerous condition of the property as well as the prior illegal activities that regularly took place there.

Tomoya Shimura may be reached at (760) 955-5368 or TShimura@VVDailyPress.com. Follow Tomoya on Facebook at facebook.com/ShimuraTomoya.

Get complete stories every day with the "exactly as printed" Daily Press E-edition, only $5 per month! Click here to try it free for 7 days. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.